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Al-Nashama player Mousa Al-Tamari led his French team, Rennes, to a valuable 2-2 draw on the pitch of Italian giants Juventus on Thursday, in the third round of the unified league phase of the UEFA Europa League.
The match goals were scored by Turk Zeki Çelik (5) and German Nick Woltemade (67, penalty) for the hosts, while the visitors' goals were scored by Al-Tamari (15) and Senegalese Boulaye Dia (43, penalty).
The "Old Lady" failed to maintain a perfect record, following victories over Spain's Celta Vigo (2-1) and the Netherlands' NEC Nijmegen (5-0), bringing their tally to seven points in fourth place provisionally.
Juventus coach Luciano Spalletti said after the match that he expects more from the French duo Randal Kolo Muani and Woltemade after the players' first start together from the first minute.
He added, "They played a good match, but they are capable of doing more. I think I can expect a little more from them because their level is higher than tonight's performance. We can expect more from them than just the sum of their individual potential. That could give three instead of two."
In Turin, the "Bianconeri" struck hard from the start with a goal by Çelik with a precise shot after a pass from Woltemade in the fifth minute.
But Al-Tamari equalized quickly with a magical touch (15), after a header pass from American Bryan Reynolds.
Dia doubled the hosts' troubles when he converted a penalty kick into a goal (43), which was caused by Brazilian Douglas Luiz.
Al-Tamari continued to shine in the second half when he toyed with goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, but his pass was blocked by the defense (48), before threatening the goal with a left-footed shot (53).
However, striker Woltemade equalized with a penalty (67), becoming the first player to find the net in his first three matches in the main stages of a major European competition with Juventus in the 21st century.
The Italian team almost snatched a late winner, before the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) intervened to disallow a goal by Colombian Jhon Lucumí (90).
Spalletti failed to ease the pressure on himself, after Juventus lost at home to Lazio 0-3 in the league, which was their second loss in seven matches.
As for Rennes, they relatively licked their wounds after a loss to Paris FC (3-4), their third in the league.
They collected their fifth point, from a win over Greece's OFI (2-1) and a goalless draw with Austria's Sturm Graz, to provisionally occupy 13th place.
In other notable results, OFI lost to Germany's Bayer Leverkusen 0-2, the match between Poland's Lech Poznań and England's Sunderland ended in a 1-1 draw, while Croatia's Dinamo Zagreb fell to the Netherlands' NEC Nijmegen 2-4, and France's Marseille continued their decline with a third loss against Austria's Sturm Graz 0-1.
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